New DVD and Blu-ray Releases — August 2014

The summer is winding down, and while there's still plenty of blockbuster greatness to take in on the big screen, there's also plenty of great stuff you can take home for your small screen. From action to horror and even some family-friendly fun, there's something for everyone this month. Read on for our guide to the best new DVD and Blu-ray releases hitting the shelves in August 2014.

August 5

'Divergent' -- Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet. In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she's Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.

'God's Not Dead' -- Starring Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo, and David A.R. White. College philosophy professor Mr. Radisson's curriculum is challenged by his new student, Josh, who believes God exists.

'Need for Speed' -- Starring Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, and Imogen Poots. Fresh from prison, a street racer who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins.

'Oculus' -- Starring Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, and Katee Sackhoff. A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

'Anna' -- Starring Mark Strong, Taissa Farmiga, and Brian Cox. A man with the ability to enter peoples' memories takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled sixteen-year-old girl to determine whether she is a sociopath or a victim of trauma.

'Around the Block' -- Starring Christina Ricci, Matt Nable, and Daniel Henshall. A young Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.

'I'll Follow You Down' -- Starring Gillian Anderson, Haley Joel Osment, and Rufus Sewell. After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one that may bring him home.

'Ping Pong Summer' -- Starring Susan Sarandon, Amy Sedaris, and Judah Friedlander. A family vacation during the summer of 1985 changes everything for a teenage boy obsessed with ping pong.

'Tarzan' -- Starring Kellan Lutz, Robert Capron, and Jaime Ray Newman. Tarzan and Jane Porter face a mercenary army dispatched by the evil CEO of Greystoke Energies, a man who took over the company from Tarzan's parents, after they died in a plane crash.

August 12

'Muppets Most Wanted' -- Starring Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey. While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.

'Bears' -- Starring John C. Reilly. A documentary that follows an Alaskan bear family as its young cubs are taught life's most important lessons.

'A Haunted House 2' -- Starring Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly, and Cedric the Entertainer. Having exorcised the demons of his ex, Malcolm is starting fresh with his new girlfriend and her two children. After moving into their dream home, however, Malcolm is once again plagued by bizarre paranormal events.

'The Railway Man' -- Starring Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, and Stellan Skarsgard. A former British Army officer, who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.

'Locke' -- Starring Tom Hardy, Olivia Colman, and Ruth Wilson. Ivan Locke, a dedicated family man and successful construction manager, receives a phone call on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career that sets in motion a series of events that threaten his careful cultivated existence.

'Hateship Loveship' -- Starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, and Hailee Steinfeld. A wild teenage girl orchestrates a romance between her nanny and her father, who is a recovering addict.

'Filth' -- Starring James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, and Eddie Marsan. A corrupt cop manipulates and hallucinates his way through a bid to secure a promotion and win back his wife and daughter.

'Breathe In' -- Starring Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, and Mackenzie Davis. When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.

'Frankie and Alice' -- Starring Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgard, and Phylicia Rashad. A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.

'Batman: Assault on Arkham' -- Starring Matthew Gray Gubler, Giancarlo Esposito, and Neal McDonough. Based on the hit video game series, Batman must find a bomb planted by the Joker while dealing with a mysterious team of villains called The Suicide Squad.

'Proxy' -- Starring Joe Swanberg, Alexa Havins, and Kristina Klebe. The life of three parents who have all shared the loss of a child. Motives are not what they seem and sanity is in short supply in this thriller.

'Rage' -- Starring Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, and Max Ryan. When the daughter of a reformed criminal is kidnapped, he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice.

'Swelter' -- Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Alfred Molina, and Grant Bowler. In the vein of the brutal heist drama 'Reservoir Dogs,' the modern crime thriller 'A History of Violence,' and the classic western 'High Plains Drifter,' 'Swelter' is a violent story of greed and retribution.

August 19

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' -- Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Jamie Foxx. Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of super villains against him, impacting his life.

'The Quiet Ones' -- Starring Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, and Olivia Cooke. A university professor and a team of students conduct an experiment on a young woman, uncovering terrifyingly dark, unexpected forces in the process.

'Only Lovers Left Alive' -- Starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, and Mia Wasikowska. A depressed musician reunites with his lover, though their romance -- which has already endured several centuries -- is disrupted by the arrival of uncontrollable younger sister.

'The Sacrament' -- Starring Joe Swanberg, A.J. Bowen, and Kentucker Audley. A newsteam trails a man as he travels to an undisclosed location to find his missing sister. Upon entering "Eden Parish" and meeting the community's leader, it becomes apparent to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems.

'Go for Sisters' -- Starring LisaGay Hamilton, Yolonda Ross, and Edward James Olmos. Fontayne is enlisted by Bernice -- her estranged old friend and current parole officer -- along with a disgraced cop to search for Bernice's son, who went missing on the Mexican border.

'Toy Story of Terror' -- Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack. When the toys go on a road trip, an unexpected event leads them to a roadside motel where one of the toys goes missing and the rest of the gang find themselves involved in a scary mystery.

August 26

'Blended' -- Starring Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. After a bad blind date, a man and woman find themselves stuck together at a resort for families, where their attraction grows as their respective kids benefit from the burgeoning relationship.

'Belle' -- Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Matthew Goode, and Emily Watson. The mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.

'Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return' -- Starring Lea Michele, Kelsey Grammer, and Dan Aykroyd. Dorothy wakes up in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and Glinda from a devious new villain, the Jester.

'The Double' -- Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, and Wallace Shawn. A clerk in a government agency finds his unenviable life takes a turn for the horrific with the arrival of a new co-worker who is both his exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and seductive with women.

'Aftermath' -- Starring Edward Furlong, Monica Keena, and William Baldwin. Following a horrifying nuclear disaster, nine strangers find themselves sharing a cellar in rural Texas, where personalities conflict as they all struggle to survive.

'Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas' -- Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Melusine Mayance, and Delphine Chuillot. In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, he raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.

'Cinemanovels' -- Starring Lauren Lee Smith, Jennifer Beals, and Ben Cotton. As a young woman prepares a memorial film retrospective for her late estranged father, his work begins to influence her life in strange and significant ways.

'Heatstroke' -- Starring Stephen Dorff, Peter Stormare, and Maisie Williams. While on vacation in the African desert, a research scientist is murdered, leaving his girlfriend to try and fend off the attackers and protect his teenage daughter.

'Jackpot' -- Starring Kyrre Hellum, Mads Ousdal, and Henrik Mestad. When four career criminals and gamblers when the Norwegian lottery, the jackpot proves impossible to divide equally among them, sending them on a wild and violent trajectory.